Mobile Suit Gundam: Unspoken Truths
by djb21212-Steeldramon21
Summary: Updated and revised Feburary 24, 2003. Several years have passed since the One Year War. In UC 0093, Sayla is brought face to face with Amuro for the first time in years. Will old feelings come to the surface? Takes place after Char's Counterattack.
1. Part 1

Mobile Suit Gundam 0079  
  
Unspoken Truths  
  
Written by djb21212  
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Gundam. It belongs to Sunrise and Bandai.  
  
Plot: Here it is, my first UC Gundam story. It's an AU based on the graphic novels and mainly revolves around my two favorite characters: Amuro and Sayla. In case anyone is wondering, there will be some moments between the two later. For now, enjoy!  
  
Warning: Some of the characters are OOC. I sincerely apologize and might fix it later. It's my first Gundam story so it's not perfect.  
Prologue  
  
Sayla Mass stared blankly out over the hangar of the White Base, lost in thought about her brother. Ever since seeing him again for the first time in years several months before, it was one of the largest concerns resting with her mind. To think that she would finally find Casval and learn that he was a Zeon soldier. To make matters worse, he was the feared Red Comet, Char Aznable, that they had been fighting as of late. It worried her to no end, that she would lose him so soon after finding each other.  
  
"Casval..." Sayla said to herself as she closed her blue eyes in deep thought. "Where are you now, brother? Maybe... maybe the Zeon soldiers can tell me."  
  
"Sayla?" She was broken from her reflection by the sound of her friend, Amuro Ray. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Amuro. I could ask you the same question." Sayla stood up and noticed that the young pilot was carrying a box of equipment in his hands. "So, what brings you to the hanger at this hour?"  
  
"Um, I was going to fit the Gundam with these replacement parts." Amuro replied.  
  
"You're always doing most of the repairs yourself, I see. Good for you." Sayla couldn't help but smile lightly as she said that. Amuro was young but always found ways to improve his mobile suit's performance. It was that same devotion that made the Gundam the best mobile suit at their disposal.  
  
Amuro blushed lightly from the comment. To him, adjusting the Gundam's performance was almost a hobby to him, coming as easily as building model ships or airplanes would to some. Still, it embarrassed the young pilot.  
  
"It's nothing major, Sayla, really. It had to be done anyway."  
  
"Amuro, is it hard piloting the Gundam?" Sayla asked, feeling the need to change the subject.  
  
"Umm, not really." Amuro replied as he set the box of parts down. "The computer does most of the work. I just have to drive it, but it isn't as easy as it looks."  
  
"I see. But I could never pilot it, could I?"  
  
Amuro suddenly realized exactly what Sayla was asking. "Sayla, do you want to pilot the Gundam?"  
  
"No, not at all. I was just asking." Sayla said quickly as she started to leave. "I've gotta go. Good luck, Amuro." With that, she was gone, leaving Amuro with his thoughts.  
  
"Something's wrong with Sayla." Amuro thought to himself as he picked up the parts. "Maybe it's nothing... I hope." With that, he began his adjustments to the Gundam. Meanwhile as Sayla continued to walk away, an idea suddenly came to her mind. If she could use the Gundam later, she could get information from the Zeon about where her brother was. Simple enough. The problem was geting access to it in a way that appeared normal.  
  
'I wish I didn't have to do this in secret.' Sayla thought on the way back to her quarters. 'I'll be betraying everyone's trust. But I must know. I must know about Casval.' With that, she returned to her quarters and began to think of a plan.  
Chapter 1  
  
The next day, all was surprisingly quiet on the White Base's bridge as it moved through an area not far from Ma Kube's mines, looking for a way to replenish it's already-low salt supply. However, it wouldn't remain quiet for very long...  
  
"Mr. Bright!" Oscar Dublin said from his station. "I'm picking up a ship coming in at two o' clock. It's too fast to be a Magellan-class but too small for a Gau."  
  
"Think you can handle it, Amuro?" Bright Noa asked the Gundam pilot next to him.  
  
"To be honest," Amuro replied, "I'm not sure how the Gundam will do against an enemy we don't know about."  
  
"Go to Battle Alert 1. Gundam will be on standby for now until we see what we're up against." Bright turned to Ryo Jose and Hayato Kobiyashi, who were standing behind Amuro. "That goes for Guntank and Guncannon as well."  
  
"Yes sir." As the three pilots left to prepare their mobile suits, Sayla moved away from the communications station and left for the hangar bay. She had to act fast if her plan was going to work.  
  
-----------------  
  
"Is everything ready?" Crowley Hamon asked the officer next to her. The Geloog had been moving through the region, searching for the so-called "Trojan Horse" of the Federation. Then they would unleash the Gouf, piloted by none other than Ranba Ral, and destroy them.  
  
"Yes, ma'am. As soon as they attack the Geloog, Lt. Ral and the Zakus will destroy them."  
  
"Good." Hamon turned to the viewport, smiling to herself.  
  
----------------  
  
Amuro had finished getting ready to launch with Ryu and Hayato when they made their way to the hangar. To their surprise, the Gundam was moving towards the catapult on it's own!  
  
"Job, who's piloting the Gundam?" Amuro said to the hangar's controller.  
  
"Sayla Mass." the young man told him. "She said it was special orders."  
  
"No one gave any orders like that!" Amuro then tried to call to his friend as the Gundam continued it's movement to the catapult. "Sayla, what are you doing? Get out of there!" The mobile suit continued to move forward, locking itself into the catapult.  
  
"Gundam in position." Sayla said to herself from inside the cockpit, unaware that anyone was calling her over the COM. "Launching now!" The sudden movement forward slammed her back into the seat. The Gundam flew forward until it slammed into the ground.  
  
"We've gotta get out there!" Ryu said as he and Hayato started for the Guntank. Amuro was about to head to the Guncannon when the hangar shook. White Base was under attack!  
Chapter 2  
  
"Beam cannons to ready!" Bright Noa shouted across the bridge as White Base shook from the Geloog's weapons fire. "Support fire to starboard! And why haven't Guncannon and Guntank launched?"  
  
----------------  
  
On the Geloog's bridge, Hamon watched as the ship shook from the White Base's weapons. "Evasive manuvers but keep up the attack!" she ordered. "Soon, my beloved Ral shall engage them. Until then, we must keep them busy!"  
  
----------------  
  
The Gundam slowly got to it's feet as Sayla looked around for other mobile suits. So far, she didn't seen anything.  
  
"I have to question a Zeon soldier." Sayla said to herself from the cockpit. 'Hopefully, one of them will know about Casval.' Suddenly, she was pelted by weapons fire. Through the Gundam's cameras, she saw that it was a Zaku. She aimed the beam rifle carefully and fired... but missed! 'I don't understand. I'm aiming right at him but I missed.'  
  
Unknown to her, the Gouf was rapidly coming up from behind, it's heat rod ready to strike.  
  
"Too bad, little rookie." Ramba Ral said to himself from the Gouf's cockpit. "Now you have to die."  
  
*Beep* *Beep* "Another one!" Sayla said, seeing the Gouf moving in for the kill. Before she could fire any shots, the Gouf extended it's heat rod, shocking the Gundam and throwing it off balance. It was about to finally finish the job when it was hit from behind. Not too far away from the two mobile suits was the Guncannon, piloted by Amuro.  
  
"Sayla, get up!" Amuro shouted over the COM. "Get out of there! If we can, I'll switch over with you!" No reply. 'Damn, she must have the COM off. I've gotta do something before she gets herself torn apart.' He fired the Guncannon's shoulder cannons at the Gouf but it dodged the blasts. Taking his time, Amuro fired the cannons again, this time making a direct hit. When the smoke cleared, the Gouf had disappeared. Amuro looked through the Guncannon's cameras and saw that the Gundam was walking away. He wanted to try to talk to Sayla again before she got herself hurt.  
  
"Sayla!" Amuro called over the COM. "We don't know if the enemy is down! Come back!" Still no reply.  
  
"Where is the enemy?" Sayla asked herself in the Gundam's cockpit. Suddenly, the Gouf's heat rod snaked out of the sand and lashed at the Gundam's leg, throwing her off balance. The mobile suit rose from the sand completely unharmed!  
  
"Sayla!!!" Amuro shouted, moving the Guncannon to where she was. The Gouf noticed this and lashed out it's heat rod. The Guncannon dodged and fired it's cannons again, hitting the Gouf. Meanwhile, the Zaku began to head for the Gundam.  
  
'I'm gonna capture that mobile suit.' Cozun thought from the Zaku's cockpit. It knocked the Gundam to the ground and grabbed the head, trying to rip it off.  
  
"No! The main camera!" Sayla said as she lost the outside visual.  
  
"Cozun, hold it!" Ranba ordered. He was then hit with weapons fire from the Guntank, piloted by Ryu and Hayato. "Cozun, report! Are you all right?"  
  
"I'm fine, Lt. Ral." Cozun replied, continuing to pull the Gundam's head off. "I'm making sure this one doesn't go anywhere."  
  
"Akos, go support Cozun!" Ranba ordered over his COM to another Zaku. "Go after that red one!" Immediately, the Zaku started attacking the Guncannon.  
  
"Dammit!" Amuro yelled as the Guncannon took some of the hits. "Sayla, turn on your damned radio!" When there still wasn't a reply, the brown-haired pilot was starting to think the worst. What if she was too hurt to communicate? He had to get her out of there before things got worse. Meanwhile, the Zaku attacking the Guncannon had run out of ammo. It was time for some payback. Amuro fired the shoulder cannons at the Zaku, destroying it completely.  
  
"Akos, fall back!" Ranba ordered but it was too late. Cozun turned around and, seeing the Guncannon right behind him, let go of the Gundam.  
  
"Damn you!!" Amuro shouted angrily as he slammed the Guncannon's fist into the Zaku's head, disabling it.  
  
"Cozun, do you read?" Ranba said over the COM. There was no reply. "Damn. They got him too." He opened a channel to the Geloog, which was still pelting the White Base. "Hamon, come in."  
  
"Yes, Ral?" Hamon replied.  
  
"Akos and Cozun are down. Prepare to redezvous at point 088. We're pulling out."  
  
"Understood." She then turned to the bridge crew. "Change course. Break off combat and head to point 088."  
  
"Ma'am, we shouldn't break off combat." one of the officers said. "We were just supplied with the Zanzibar. Why don't we use it?"  
  
"We can't risk using an untested weapon right now." Hamon told him. "Besides, Admiral Dozul feels that we can defeat the 'Trojan Horse' with our present strength. Also, without Ma Kube, we have to do it the hard way."  
Chapter 3  
  
Later, the Guncannon and Guntank had towed the captured Zaku and disabled Gundam back to White Base. After getting the Zeon soldier to the brig, Sayla went straight to the bridge. There, Noa was to decide what to do with her.  
  
"So, let me see if I understand this." Bright said to Sayla. "The only reason you took the Gundam out without authorization was to prove a point? That women could fight as well as men?"  
  
"Yes sir." Sayla said.  
  
"To be honest, Sayla, this wasn't your finest hour." Bright told her.  
  
"At any rate, an example still must be set for the crew." Mirai Yashima added. "You're confined to the brig for three days. Is that understood?"  
  
"Yes sir." With that, Ryu escorted Sayla off the bridge. Mirai turned to Bright to ask him something as he watched the two of them leave.  
  
"Is something wrong, sir?" Mirai asked.  
  
"Somehow, Mirai, I have the feeling that there's another reason for what Sayla did. If she's telling the truth, then that at least explains her actions. Still, I don't think we've heard the whole story."  
  
----------------  
  
Amuro sat in the Gundam's cockpit, going over the data from the recent battle. He wasn't on the bridge when Sayla was reprimanded so he was spared hearing her excuse to Noa and Mirai. Still, he didn't understand why she took the Gundam out and not the other mobile suits or a Core Fighter. Then again, Sayla was one of the most mysterious people he had ever met. Added to the fact that she was also an attractive young woman...  
  
Amuro shook his head as he blushed lightly, clearing his head of those thoughts. Those kind of thoughts were the last thing he wanted on his mind. With that resolve, he continued to go over the Gundam's data.  
  
----------------  
  
"It's only three days, Sayla." Ryu said reassuringly as he and Frau Bow escorted Sayla to her cell. "Try to hold on."  
  
"Don't worry about me, Ryu." Sayla said. "I'll be fine."  
  
"If you need anything, anything at all, just call me." Frau Bow added.  
  
"Thank you, Frau Bow." With that, they closed the cell door. Sayla leaned back against walls of the cell and closed her blue eyes, letting the tears fall as she thought about her brother once more. After secretly questioning the Zeon soldier they had captured a few minutes before, she had discovered that Char was indeed her brother, Casval. Now she knew where he was and that he was all right, for now. Still, taking out the Gundam earlier that day was a huge risk. It was what she had to do to find out about Casval. Still, she wasn't certain that the friends she made, especially Amuro, would trust her after that.  
  
Amuro. He had saved her life today. If he and the Guncannon hadn't shown up when they did, the Zaku and the Gouf would've destroyed her. Somehow, Sayla felt that he protected her out of duty and her own foolishness. Still, it was a brave thing to do, even if it was just in the line of duty. It was the type of person he was and she admired that about him, amoung other things...  
  
Sayla shook her head as she brushed the tears from her eyes, dismissing those thoughts from her mind. The last person she should be thinking about is Amuro right now. This was a war. There wasn't time to have those types of feelings for someone. With that, she brushed a lock of blond hair out of her face and leaned against the wall again.  
  
(Note: From this point onward, continuity gets twisted a lot and this story branches off on it's own. You have been warned.)  
  
"Sayla?" She was startled by the sound of Amuro's voice from outside the cell. After finishing his calculations, he decided to visit her and see how she was doing.  
  
"Amuro." Sayla said apologetically. "I'm sorry about stealing the Gundam."  
  
"It's all right. No permanent damage was done to it. At least we've captured a Zaku thanks to you. That's an opportunity we wouldn't have had without you."  
  
"..." Sayla blushed lightly from the comment, still felt guilty for betraying Amuro's and everyone else's trust. It showed in her eyes as she looked down at the floor.  
  
"Sayla, if you really wanted to pilot the Gundam, why didn't you just say anything?"  
  
"It's not that. It's just..." As her blue eyes met his brown ones, she realized that couldn't tell Amuro the truth. True, they had grown close somewhat over the last few months but, especially given the intense rivalry between him and Char, it would ruin the trust they had so far. It was something that was going to have to wait for another day. "Never mind, Amuro."  
  
Amuro looked into her eyes, concern showing in his own. Before he could say any more, suddenly the corridor shook hard. Once more, White Base was under attack.  
  
"Attention! We are under attack! Amuro, report to the Gundam!"  
  
"I've gotta go." Amuro said as he started heading down the corridor, leaving Sayla to her thoughts once again. As the young pilot departed, Sayla sat down on the cot in her cell. She would tell him and the others her unspoken truth, when the time was right. After all, it was only three days.  
End Part 1...  
  
Author's note: The next part will happen several hours after Char's Counterattack. Until then, review! No flames, please! 


	2. Part 2

Mobile Suit Gundam  
  
Unspoken Truths- Part 2  
  
Written by: djb21212  
Disclaimer: See Part 1.  
  
Plot: Several years have passed since Part 1 and it is now UC 0093, several hours after the end of "Char's Counterattack". "Hathaway's Flash" never happened in this timeline. Sayla, now a doctor and living on Earth, is brought face to face for the first time in years with a comatose Amuro. Will old freelings be brought back to the surface? This is an Amuro/Sayla story, just so you know. Otherwise, enjoy!  
Chapter 4  
Several years later...  
"Melissa, do me a favor and run these to the lab." Sayla said to a young nurse next to her, handing her a clipboard. "And tell them that I need those test results for Mr. Owen."  
  
The woman nodded as she took the clipboard and left the office. Sayla got out of her chair and stretched, tired after fourteen straight hours of seeing patients. Several years have passed since she left the Federation and she had finally became a medical doctor. The profession was one she was suited for; caring for the sick and injured efficiently and smoothly. Still, part of her missed those days when she was on the White Base with her friends: Noa Bright, Frau Bow, Amuro Ray...  
  
Sayla paused as her mind came across the Newtype pilot she had known. Amuro was someone she hadn't thought of for many years. They haven't seen each other since the end of the One Year War. When they parted company, despite the fact that he and the others now knew of her past as Artesia Daikun, they had resolved to remain friends. Still, part of her wondered what he and the rest of her friends from those days were doing.  
  
Then, there was her astranged brother, Casval. Since the battle at A Bao A Qu, she only heard fragmented rumors of where he was. Sayla searched to see if any of these held any truth but, instead of answers, she only found more questions. It distressed her at times, that her brother may be alive but, as usual, missing from her sight.  
  
"Casval..." Sayla said softly to herself as she sat back down. "If only..." Suddenly, she was interrupted by a young man with a sense of urgency on his face.  
  
"Doctor, come quick!" the young man said. "We have an emergency!"  
  
"I'm on my way." Sayla said with her usual calm as she followed the young man out of her office and down the hallway to the emergency ward. "What is the problem?"  
  
"We just brought in a comatose patient from 30 kilometers away." the young man, whose name was "Samuel" from his nametag, said to her. "He was found in the wreakage of something that looked like a mobile suit this morning. We tried to revive him on the way over but he wouldn't respond."  
  
"Has he suffered any trauma?"  
  
"No, ma'am. He appears to be fine except for some minor injuries, despite the condition of the wreakage he was found in."  
  
When Sayla and the young man entered the room, she felt some pressure in her head. It only happened whenever a strong Newtype was nearby. She knew only because some of the patients she treated were Newtypes who had visited Earth. Still, this feeling was all too familiar. The young man went to one of the beds and pulled back the curtain partition. When Sayla saw who was lying there, she gasped in total shock. Lying on the bed was none other than Amuro Ray himself!  
Chapter 5  
"Amuro..." Sayla said as she tried to believe what she was seeing on the bed. Aside from looking older, it was indeed her friend lying unconscious. She quickly composed herself and turned to the young man next to her. "Make sure that no one else comes near this patient for now."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." With that, the blond-haired woman left the room and leaned against the wall, her mind still in shock. Amuro Ray, one of the strongest Newtypes and the best pilot she had ever known, was now in a coma. How could this have happened to him? Sayla decided to find out for herself what happened to her friend. Maybe something similar happened to Casval. She went back to her office and decided to call one person who would definitely know.  
  
----------------  
  
"You took advantage of Quess, Char!" Amuro had yelled over the increasing power of the NuGundam's psycoframe. "All she wanted was a father figure!"  
  
"If you had never killed Lalah all those years ago, she would have been her mother figure!" Char had yelled back through the COM system. Suddenly, the cockpit was filled with a blinding light, forcing Amuro to shut his eyes. Everything went white as the psycoframe overloaded. He thought that he was definitely going to die here. Strangely, he felt held down, as if he were lying down. The light faded until he only saw the darkness of his own eyelids.  
  
Amuro slowly opened his eyes, his vision beginning to clear. He wasn't dead. Instead, he was in some kind of infirmary, probably a hospital. He saw that a young man was standing at the foot of his bed, looking over some charts.  
  
"Where..." Amuro said hoarsely, startling the young man. "...Where am I?"  
  
"Oh my God." Instead of answering Amuro, Samuel rushed out to find the doctor. Amuro sighed, tired and feeling like his body was through hell and back.  
  
----------------  
  
"I need to know where Bright is, Mirai." Sayla said over the phone. "There's an emergency here at the hospital that I need his help with."  
  
"He should be coming home soon." Mirai replied, the stress and sorrow evident in her voice. She had told Sayla what had happened over the last few days, from what she heard from her husband, but it still left both women without any real answers. "What should I tell him?"  
  
"Just tell him that he needs to see me at the hospital right away." Sayla said. Both women said their goodbyes and hung up. Suddenly, Samuel rushed into her office again, out of breath from running.  
  
"Doctor, the patient has woken up." Samuel got out as he tried to catch his breath. Sayla rushed out of her office and back to the emergency ward. This time when she saw Amuro, his eyes were open.  
  
"Sayla?" Amuro said in complete surprise.  
  
"Welcome back, Amuro." Sayla said to him, a slight smile on her face. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Terrible." He looked around and noticed that he was definitely in a hospital. His flight suit was gone, however. "What... what happened to me?"  
  
"You were brought in after you were found not far from here." Sayla told him as she went over the charts attached to his bed. "You were in a brief coma until now." She went over to his side and looked at him, questions still heavy on her mind as she looked into his brown eyes. "How much do you remember?"  
  
"Um... I was trying to force Axis away from the Earth with my NuGundam." Amuro told her. "I was arguing with Char and then... nothing. There was a bright flash and then I was here." He tried to get out of bed but Sayla eased him back down.  
  
"Try to lie still. Your body's been through a lot recently and you need some rest."  
  
"...I guess you're right." As Amuro eased back into bed, Sayla saw something in his eyes that she hadn't seen since the One Year War. It was almost as if he had lost everything he held dear to him.  
  
"Something happened to you, Amuro." the blond doctor thought to herself as she went back over his charts. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this somehow."  
  
----------------  
  
Several hours later, Amuro was resting comfortably in the hospital room he was moved to when there was a knock on the door. Sayla had walked in but she wasn't alone.  
  
"You have some visitors, Amuro." She said as the three other people walked in.  
  
"Amuro!" Frau Bow-Kobiyashi said happily as she went over and hugged her friend tightly. "I was so worried about you!"  
  
"Take it easy, Frau." Amuro said to her. "I'm fine."  
  
"Are you sure? When Mirai called us and told us what happened, we were all pretty worried about you."  
  
"I told you, I'm all right." Amuro assured her. Bright Noa, who had arrived with Frau, turned to Sayla.  
  
"Is he?" Bright asked her.  
  
"Well, he'll have to stay in the hospital for another few weeks because of some minor injuries." Sayla replied. "Other than that, he's perfectly fine."  
  
"Well, we can't stay long." Frau said. "Retsu and Kikka might be giving their little brother, Goan, a hard time. If there's anything that you need, we'll be here for you."  
  
"Thanks, Frau." With that, she and Bright began to leave. Before Bright left, he turned to Sayla again.  
  
"Make sure that he gets better, Sayla." Bright said.  
  
"I will." Sayla then pulled a chair close to the bed and sat down for the first time all day. Amuro looked at her, puzzled why she was still there.  
  
"Don't you have some other patients right now?" Amuro asked.  
  
"I'm not on call for the moment so I have some time." Sayla replied. "So, Frau tells me that you met someone while you were with the Kalaba a few years ago."  
  
"Yeah. Her name was Beltochika."  
  
"From what I heard, you two were very close for a while." For some reason, a part of Sayla hated to say that. It left a slightly bitter feeling in her. "She must've been quite a woman."  
  
"She was, at least I thought so. But... but something was missing. I guess that's why we broke up a few years ago."  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that." The strange feeling in her began to grow as she looked at Amuro. It felt familiar, like she had felt it before but left it in the back of her mind.  
  
"Don't be sorry, Sayla." Amuro told her. "It was coming for a while, anyway."  
  
"So, did you ever find out what it was? What you were missing, that is."  
  
"No." Amuro looked into her ocean-blue eyes, beginning to see something that he hadn't seen for years. It was a sense of longing, almost. "Sayla, are you okay?"  
  
"Yes, Amuro, I'm fine." Sayla said as she smoothly arose from the chair. "I just need to return to my patients. I'll be back to check on you later."  
  
"All right." With that, Sayla left the room, feeling confused about the way she was beginning to feel. Hearing Amuro talk about this... Beltochika woman gave her an uneasy feeling for some reason. Almost as if...  
  
"This is ridiculous." Sayla thought to herself. "Amuro is my patient and my friend. I have no reason to feel this way." She glanced at her watch, seeing how much time had passed. She brushed her hair out of her eyes and went on her way to check on her other patients.  
Chapter 6  
"Amuro, I brought what you asked from your house." Frau said as she gave her friend a notepad covered with notes and a pencil. There were also some sketches of the NuGundam's design on the paper.  
  
"Thanks, Frau." Amuro replied as he took the items. Several days have passed since Amuro's recovery from his coma and no one visited more than Frau. Sayla, though she also had other patients, remained at his side when she could but couldn't shake the growing confusion she was feeling.  
  
"Frau, can I talk to you for a minute?" Sayla asked the red-haired woman.  
  
"Sure." The two went into the hallway and closed the door. "What's wrong, Sayla?"  
  
"Lately, I've been confused where Amuro's concerned." Sayla told her as they sat down on some chairs. "I started... feeling things I haven't felt since the war. The more time we spent talking to each other, the more this feeling grew for me. Then, when he mentioned his relationship with that Beltochika woman, I felt bitter. It was like... I'm not sure how to describe it." Sayla sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. "To be honest, I don't even know why I'm feeling this way."  
  
"I do." Frau said, smiling at the woman. "You still have feelings for him."  
  
"That's ridiculous." Sayla told her, a light blush coming to her face. "He's my patient and my friend. It wouldn't be right, even if he did feel the same way."  
  
"Let me tell you something, Sayla." Frau said as she turned to her friend. "When I saw Amuro for the first time six years ago, one of the things I asked him was if he still loved you. He didn't give me an answer but I could see it in his eyes. I saw it even when we all were on the White Base together. He'd spend so much time with you I started feeling jealous over it."  
  
"Frau-"  
  
"I'm not finished yet. You told me that he said that something was missing from his relationship with Beltochika. She wasn't you, Sayla, and never even came close. He still cares about you, even if Amuro never said anything before. I know because I'm his friend, too."  
  
"But... how do I handle this?" Sayla said as she got up, her eyes starting to become filled with tears. "After all this time, how do I deal with feelings that I buried years ago?" Suddenly, she realized what she had just said. She then turned to Frau as she sat back down. "You're right, Frau. I did care for him once and... and maybe part of me still cares for him. After the time I took the Gundam out, he came down to the brig to visit after you and Lt. Ryu did. He... he wasn't even angry that I damaged it. I betrayed his and everyone's trust that day and he wasn't even angry with me. Since then, we became much closer. Now..."  
  
"Tell him, Sayla." Frau said as she took the blond woman's hand. "You have to tell him. This has sat between you two for the last fourteen years and that's too long for anyone. If you still have feelings for each other after all this time, then you know it's something special."  
  
"...Thank you, Frau." Sayla said as the two women hugged, tears coming down her face. Sayla the remembered something her brother said to her the very last time they saw each other...  
  
(Flashback)  
  
"Be a good woman, Artesia." Char had said before he set off to finish his vendetta against the Zabi family. "Amuro's calling you."  
  
(End flashback)  
  
"He knew." Sayla said to herself. "He knew all along." She smiled softly to herself as she realized what her brother meant. Even Casval knew how close she and Amuro were becoming. In his own way, despite how bitterly he hated the Newtype pilot, in his own way he gave them their blessing.  
  
"Well, I have to get home to the kids." Frau said to her friend. "Please remember what I said, Sayla. Don't wait another fourteen years." With that, the red-haired woman walked down the hallway, leaving Sayla to her thoughts.  
Chapter 7  
Almost two weeks had passed since Amuro was brought to the hospital and he was finally ready to return to his home. During that time, he busied himself with designing a new class of Gundam. It was combination of both the Re-GZ mobile suit and his NuGundam's design. As he was putting the finishing touches on the blueprints, Sayla had walked in with his release forms. He had finished dressing in the clothes that Frau brought from his home when she came in.  
  
"Well, you're almost ready to leave, Amuro." Sayla said to him as she handed the papers to him. She noticed the blueprints for the mobile suit on the table next to them. "Is that a new mobile suit design?"  
  
"Yeah. I call it the Delta Gundam." Amuro told her as he laid out the blueprints on the bed. "It has the qualities and design schematics of the Re-GZ and the NuGundam in one system. The cockpit is based around the old Core Block system like the Double Zeta Gundam was so..." He suddenly took notice of how close Sayla was to him, how nice her perfume smelled, how her ocean-blue eyes were studying the blueprints with his own... Sayla looked up at him and both of them started to blush lightly.  
  
"Amuro... we have to talk." Sayla said, moving the blueprints over and sitting down on the bed. "It's about everything that's happened between us these last few weeks. We've become so close in that time."  
  
"I feel the same way." Amuro said to her. He then noticed the sad look on her face, a look of regret almost. "Sayla, what's wrong?"  
  
"I talked to Frau several days ago. Amuro... she told me about how you feel about me."  
  
"Oh." The former Gundam pilot then looked away from her.  
  
"Why didn't you ever say anything?"  
  
"Do you think I could have? Sayla, I had lost a lot of people I was close to during the One Year War. After Lt. Matilda and Lalah were killed, then Chein a few weeks ago... I just couldn't take that chance again." He turned back to her, a sadness evident in his brown eyes as he looked into her own eyes. "I didn't want to lose anyone else I was ever close to like that."  
  
"Amuro..." Sayla took the young man's hand into her own. "I felt the same way for most of my life. You know how I've been in regards to my brother. I never became very close to anyone because I couldn't afford to lose anyone, either. But that is the risk we take when we love someone. I've learned to accept that because... I love you."  
  
"Sayla..." Amuro said, finding himself speechless. "I think... I think I can take that risk now... because I love you, too." The two of them found themselves being drawn closer and closer until their lips met in the first kiss they ever shared with each other. Seconds went by as the kiss deepened with passion. When they reluctantly drew apart, both of them were breathless for the moment.  
  
"So, what happens now?" Amuro asked as he clasped Sayla's hands gently.  
  
"We move on, Amuro, and hope for the best." The blond-haired doctor replied as they continued to sit on the bed, enjoying the moment that had passed between them for several more minutes.  
Epilogue  
The year is now UC 0095. Almost sixteen years have passed since the end of the One Year War between the Earth Federation and the Principaly of Zeon and three years have passed since Amuro Ray's final battle with Char Aznable. Now, his life was about to begin a new chapter with his soon-to-be wife, Sayla Mass. The wedding was being held on Bright Noa's ship, the Ra Calium, and everyone they knew was there. Camille Bidan and his wife, Fa, were there as well as Judea Ishta and his friends. Bright had offered to serve as best man while Frau served as maid of honor.  
  
"Do you, Amuro Ray, accept Sayla Mass as your lawfully beloved wife, for better or worse, until death do you part?" The chaplain asked. Amuro took one look into his bride's beautiful eyes and the answer came naturally.  
  
"I do."  
  
"Do you, Sayla Mass, accept Amuro Ray as your lawfully beloved husband, for better or worse, until death do you part?"  
  
"I do."  
  
"By the power invested to me, by the Earth Federal Forces, I now pronounce you husband and wife." With that, the couple enveloped themselves in a passionate kiss while the guests clapped. As they walked down the aisle, Amuro suddenly felt a strange presence. It was familiar, almost an afterimage, but it was gone as quickly as it came.  
  
----------------  
  
Meanwhile, on Mars, a man sat alone in a darkened room staring at a computer screen. His desk was the only thing illuminated by the computer's screen. Disks and several papers littered the area. As he stared at the screen, a dark and sinister grin lit his face.  
  
"Soon, the Federation will pay for all that they took from me." the man said to himself as he scrolled down the screen, looking at the data as it went by. The door to the room opened and a young man entered, nervous as he walked into the room.  
  
"Sir, we're ready to begin 'Operation: Rebirth' now." the young man said. "The others are waiting on the data from you."  
  
"Tell them I'll be there shortly."  
  
"Yes sir." As the young man left, the nametag on the man's jacket was illuminated by the computer screen. It read "Alexander Maximoff" and had several medals pinned under it, one of which was the symbol for the old Principaly of Zeon. The man's dark eyes narrowed as he grinned sinisterly.  
  
"Yes... they will pay for what they took away from me. Zeon will live again." With that, he closed the computer screen and prepared to walk out of the room. If all went well, the colonies would finally be delivered from the Federation's grip.  
The End... and the beginning. 


End file.
